Warmth Behind Bars
by innnnnnactive
Summary: Hiro Hamada was caught Bot Fighting on the streets of San Fransokyo. At the young age of eighteen, the boy was sent to prison for three months, where he meets Tadashi. This story details his stay, and the trouble that Tadashi (who becomes like a brother to him) goes through to protect him. Rated T for language and darker themes.
1. Chapter 1

**Prison AU. Brotherly love between Tadashi and Hiro, but they're not technically related. There is no ship here, though. Rated T for vulgar language and darker themes. If any of the ratings change then I will surely inform you. Reviews are much appreciated (and will probably get the chapters out faster. I sound like a review-strumpet, though. Maybe if I showed some more shoulder I'll get more reviews). **

Tadashi had been sitting there in his room for what felt like a lifetime, absentmindedly bouncing a ball against the wall and then catching it, only to repeat the process immediately after the ball had found its home in his firm hand. The moon peaked through the bars of the window, and Tadashi scowled at how beautiful it was – sure, he tried to keep a positive outlook on life, but in the end, when he was left alone, he was envious of the world. He wanted nothing more than to be out of this confinement and to breathe the fresh air of the outside world. To run and frolic like there was no one looking and let his guard down for a day so that he didn't have to constantly worry about things. He made sure to keep this anger and disappointment to himself, though, instead taking on a respectful and quiet demeanor. People didn't mess with him, though, because he had made it obvious that he could defend himself if he needed. His years of martial arts weren't just to stay in shape.

"No! You can't put me in _this _prison – move me over a state or something! Please, please, please," a voice that sounded far too young to be in prison begged. "People in here are _pissed_ at me, you can't do this!"

"Shut it, kid, and just accept your punishment. You get you're served," said one of the guards gruffly. If the kid had been able to see his face at that moment, though, he would have been able to see the regret of putting the eighteen year old into the jail on the man's face. However, bot fighting was outlawed and the boy had been caught, along with several others. He had been a little worse for wear when he was arrested, but the jury had not ruled in his favor and he was put into two years of jail for bot fighting (amongst other things).

The kid was pushed into his cell and the door was locked behind him. The guards looked at the other that resided of the cell, who hadn't been informed about the new arrival. "You're getting a new roommate, by the way, Tada. He's just a kid." With that, the guards left.

Hiro looked at his new roommate, both relieved and terrified about that fact that he didn't recognize him. Without saying anything, though, Hiro climbed up to the top bunk and laid on his back. He wasn't going to be talking with his new mate tonight. Tadashi scoffed under his breath before deciding to speak to the newcomer.

"You could have at least introduced yourself."

Tadashi didn't get a reply. He figured that the boy was probably sleeping. He took his bouncy ball and put in into his pillow case, where it would safely remain for the rest of the night. After that, he decided to hit the hay as well, and minutes later a soft snoring could be heard throughout the small cell.

Hiro Hamada, however, wasn't asleep. He only opted to ignore his new roommate, laying down on his back and staring at the ceiling that was much too close to his face for his comfort. He was silently cursing himself for being caught bot fighting. If he were to have still been a little kid or if it were a friendly competition then things would have been completely fine, but this was intense fighting that involved drugs and gambling. It wasn't anything that kids would get in on, and Hiro got busted because he was careless.

When he heard the soft snoring of his roommate he sighed to himself. He should really get to sleep, too, even though he wasn't the slightest bit tired. After such a day, though, how could he _not _be tired? He was tried and jailed in the course of one day, not an ounce of mercy having been shown to the young adult. Not only that, but he was thrown into the local prison, meaning that there were going to be other bot fighters that weren't going to be happy with him. He had very few friends in the world of bot fighting, so he would be very lucky if he wasn't killed or hospitalized within the first few days.

Hiro tried to push these thoughts aside, instead thinking of how his new roommate was respected by the guards. _Tada_ was what the guard called him. Maybe that was a nickname that he was given, or it was short for something, but Hiro wasn't sure. If he was extremely lucky, he could acquaint himself with the older, and maybe even gain protection from him. He seemed like a strong person over all. There had to be some way for him to remain safe until he could escape this hellhole.

Through the night, Hiro drifted in and out of a fitful sleep. He was careful not to wake his cellmate every time that he awoke, though, instead taking solace in the soft snoring that he provided. He couldn't be killed when the other was sleeping.

The snoring lasted until bright and early the next day, and the guards gave them food at seven thirty. Both of the tanned skin men went to the food, sitting down and eating it with the provided chopsticks rather than the fork.

They ate in silence until Tadashi finished his food, looking at his new roomie. The other was less than half way done with his food.

"Hey, I'm Tadashi," he said firmly. Hiro respected the tone, but it wasn't harsh but it wasn't timid. It demanded your attention, but it didn't push you around. Hiro could tell that he would be the center of a room without even trying. "What's your name?"

"Hiro Hamada," he said. He winced internally at how weak and fearful his voice sounded in comparison.

"That's kind of funny, my surname is Hamada, too," he chuckled, smiling. "I knew that they usually sorted these cells by alphabetical order, but this is kind of ridiculous. I guess we're both seashore rice patties – unless you're Arabic."

"Nah, my parents were from Japan. Thus, the whole living in San Fransokyo, thing," Hiro replied quietly, picking the egg out of his rice. "What are you in here for? I'm in for bot fighting."

"Manslaughter," Tadashi replied. He said it as if it were as casual as the weather.

Hiro sputtered his lips and got up, staring at the other for a solid minute before voicing his opinion on the matter.

"But you're really nice!"

"It _was_ an accident."

"But you're so young, how long are you in here?"

"A few more months."

"That is _not_ fair."

"It kind of is," Tadashi replied, his tone sounding rather final. Hiro sighed and backed down.

"Is there a story behind it, or are you the mysterious type of guy that doesn't tell – wait, hold up, much more important. Are you gay? Or a rapist, I think that's more of my question. Please tell me that I don't have to sleep with one eye open when I'm around you."

Tadashi chuckled and shook his head. "Calm down, you're safe with me. Out there, though? Maybe not so much. I can protect you if you want, but if you want I can stay out of it. I heard you come in last night – really, it was hard not to. Also, I'm rather asexual, so you don't have to worry about that, Hiro."

"Thank god for that, and…" Hiro paused to think about the offer. It seemed a little bit much to ask, but he couldn't just survive on his own because he was small and would be brutally murdered in point two seconds. He decided to swallow the little pride that he had left and nodded. "That would be amazing. I would totally love your protection." Hiro didn't mention the fact that Tadashi didn't answer the question about the story.

"Then when it's time to go out to the yard, just loop your fingers into my waistband. I know that it may be awkward, but it's the best way to get people to know that you're under my protection," he said. Hiro nodded and they fell into silence again. Hiro felt like Tadashi had found a way to own him without him even noticing.

Realization fell upon him when the guards were coming up to let them out into the yard.

_He was Tadashi's bitch. _


	2. Chapter 2

**This is where exactly none of your questions get answered because I'm a terrible person. Next chapter will answer stuff, though, because it'll start out with a flashback. **

Hiro walked behind Tadashi, matching the stride of the older. His finger was hooked onto the waist band, and he was looking down rather than at the faces of any of the other prisoners. He was practically shaking in his boots, the thought of being ganged up on again terrifying him. What terrified him even more was the thought that he was acting like a submissive puppy towards the other Hamada. He wasn't usually like this at all. He was usually a stubborn brat and got into nothing but trouble, but now he was reforming himself to fit the molds that he needed to go into. Maybe that was the point of prison. Or maybe he was going crazy.

Maybe he had a crush on Tadashi?

Hiro scoffed as soon as he thought that. He may have been Tadashi's prison bitch, but he was _not_ thinking about a romantic relationship with that man. They were both in prison, and somehow that was the biggest turnoff he could think of. Also, he was like… almost like a brother to Hiro. And almost twice his age. Also, it was _Tadashi_, which was a perfectly reasonable explanation to Hiro.

Hiro didn't realize that Tadashi had stopped walking until he ran into the backside of his guardian. Tadashi looked down and chuckled at the look on Hiro's face. "I take it you didn't sleep well last night?" he inquired, ruffling that already-messy hair of his friend.

Hiro quickly fixed his hair with one hand, the other never leaving the grip that it had on Tadashi's waistband. "I slept fine!" He defended weakly. The bags under his eyes begged to differ, but Tadashi let it go as they left the dark building and stepped into the too bright sunlight.

"If someone starts picking at you, just tug on the band, okay?" Tadashi clarified. They walked in silence until they reached a section of the yard that was rather abandoned. They loitered there in the dry grass, continuing their conversation from breakfast. "Were you any good of a bot fighter?"

"I was great. I was probably the best that there was, seeing as I haven't lost a fight since I was thirteen. Well, not without meaning to. Sometimes I would lose on purpose so that I could trick people into betting more money, and then when everyone assumed that I would lose I would bring out my can of kickass and get them."

"_Language_, Hiro," Tadashi scolded. Hiro stared at him, slack-jawed.

"You're in prison for manslaughter, and you're probably like, thirty, and you're scolding me on my language?!" Tadashi nodded. Hiro sighed, shaking his head but just going with it.

"_Anyways_, how'd you get caught?"

"I was being really, really stupid and cocky. I got ganged up on and then it all went down from there, the cops showed up and I was taken in again. This time I got the full extent of the law because I'm legally over eighteen now. Pretty simple story, really."

"Okay, so tell me this. You seem to be a pretty smart kid – don't look at me like that, you _are_ a kid – so why did you keep bot fighting? If you can build a robot that can win all of those battles, couldn't you have gone to college or something?"

Hiro shook his head, chuckling to himself. "I'm an orphan, but I ran away from the orphanage. I was living on the streets, really. Also, watch out, there's one of the suckers that I beat when I was sixteen at my two o'clock, it should be your four o'clock, if I'm not mistaken. Wait, no, it should be your eight o'clock," Hiro corrected himself, watching the tall, gruff, and dangerous looking man walk towards them. Tadashi turned around and glared at the on comer.

The man didn't flinch, which was his mistake.

"Tada, what are you doing with this shrimp? It's about time he was caught, and 'me and a lot of other people have got a bone to pick with him."

Hiro cowered behind Tadashi, unable to see the completely unamused look on Tadashi's face. The man didn't back down in the slightest.

"As I have already made clear, Hiro is _mine_. So buzz off," Tadashi said simply. Hiro wanted to claw his eyes out because the man _still_ sounded so casual. Couldn't he at least sound angry or scared like a reasonable person?! The only thing that he had even gotten a little bit emotional about was the fact that Hiro swore. Even then, he didn't get angry, only a little bit passionate.

"Sorry, Tada," (what was with that nick name? Could people not pronounce the -_shi_ or was it just something that Hamada went by?) "But this shit is personal."

The burly man made a move to grab at Hiro, but Tadashi beat him to it and easily knocked the larger man over, using some complicated martial arts trick that just looked like a blur of movement to Hiro. Tadashi leaned over a whispered into the man's ear, whispering something that Hiro couldn't understand.

'_Tada,'_ he said, cockily. It was like he was rubbing salt into the wound. _ 'Tell all of your friends that Hiro is under my protection. If they so much as glance at him without asking me first, they'll have to deal with more than this. The usual rules apply. And, also, please watch the language. I rather dislike vulgarity.'_

With that, Tadashi and Hiro made their exit.

When they were in their new secluded sector of the yard, Hiro stared at Tadashi blankly for a while. When he had plenty of time to digest what had happened, Hiro blinked and opened his mouth to talk. "That was…"

Silence.

"I mean…"

Longer silence.

"Is that how you killed someone?"

At this, Tadashi paled. It was the last thing he was expecting from the kid. "Nope, not even close. But we're going to be assigned jobs soon, so stay close to the guards."

His question was answered by essentially complete avoidance. Hiro didn't push it, though.

The rest of the week went by normally. Or, at least, as normal as it could have been in a prison.


	3. Chapter 3

**If you notice, in the first chapter I changed "A few more years" into "A few more months" because that's more fitting to what I have in mind for this story. **

**Reviews are like crack. I need more. **

**This is shorter than usual. My apologies. **

**_TADASHI'S POINT OF VIEW._**

_Tadashi had spent a couple of years on his new robot. It was nearly done, and all he needed to do was make a few more key adjustments. It was sure to help plenty of people – he was going to make public patents and he was going to be sure that everything was outward. His professor came in to check on the progress, smiling. _

_"How's it going, Tadashi?" Professor Callaghan inquired, stepping in and smiling. _

_"Pretty good, he just needs to be activated for a test run right now. Actually, would you like to do the honors?" Tadashi replied, his voice echoing in the metal confines of the box that he was working on. He pulled away and stretched, grease having stained his cheek and the gloves that he had on. _

_"I would love to, just tell me how," the professor replied with. They both smiled. _

_"What do you say when you're hurt?" Tadashi asked, deciding not to tell the other directly. _

_"I thought you weren't comfortable with swearing?"_

_"I'm still not comfortable with it, I meant the other thing."_

_"Oh, uh, ow?" The robot came to life and looked around. He scanned the professor and then stepped towards him, a series of beeps and glitch-like noises coming out. The movements weren't human, the hip joints and ankles staying in line. The robot handed Callaghan a lollipop, a garbled mess of noises come out of the speakers. Tadashi winced, knowing that that wasn't what the robot was supposed to do. _

_Callaghan cautiously took the lollipop, but then the robot lunged itself at the professor, tearing at his arms with inhumane strength. Tadashi tried to look away, but the image of his hard work tears off the limbs of his mentor was burned into his skull. He doubled over and began throwing up, the sounds of heaving and screams ringing through the halls of the university. People started running to see what happened, and they all saw Tadashi's robot take the lollipop and shove it down Callaghan's throat, silencing his screams and breaking the man's neck. _

_Tadashi ordered the robot to return to it's off position. It did so, curling up while the white fabric was still covered by blood. There was a heart-breaking silence. _

_The next thing that Tadashi knew was that he was in jail and also had to go through extensive therapy. He was relieved, though, for if he hadn't been put into jail then the guilt of what had happened would have eaten the young man away. _

_He was sentenced to sixteen months in prison and then two years in the probation system._


	4. Chapter 4

Tadashi woke up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. He sat up quickly and tried to regain his breath, his chest feeling like it was constricted. He used the stomach of his tank-top to wipe away his sweat. _It wasn't your fault_, he reminded himself, the sliver of the moon grinning at him through the prison bars. _It could have happened to anyone. You're paying time, and you should be thankful. If it wasn't him, then Baymax would have killed you. _

Tadashi didn't notice the head that was hanging down from the top bunk until Hiro cleared his throat, making Tadashi jump. The older hit his head on the metal bars the held the upper bed up, and he hissed quietly in pain. Hiro stifled his laughter, looking down at his roommate. This was the first time in the week that he had been there that Tadashi hadn't slept like a baby through the night.

(Metaphorically like a baby. Not literally like a baby, for he didn't wake up and cry periodically throughout the night.)

"Everything alright there, 'Dashi?" Hiro whispered. He knew nothing about Tadashi's alleged manslaughter, and was beginning to think that either Tadashi was a psychopath that was very good at pretending he cared, or it really had been an accident and Tadashi had managed to move on. Either way, so long as he wasn't being murdered and Tadashi remained stoic throughout their stay, he didn't really care.

"Yeah," the older Hamada replied, his voice rough with sleep. "Sorry for waking you."

"Oh, you didn't wake me, don't worry about that," Hiro took that moment to jump down from the top bunk and sit on Tadashi's bed. "What were you dreaming about?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it, kid. You should really get some sleep. You've been looking really, _really_ tired lately."

"Don't bullshit me," Hiro deadpanned, staring into Tadashi's eyes. Tadashi was going to reprimand him about his language, but then he really _looked _into the eyes of his little-brotherly figure. The moonlight reflected off of his big eyes, the yellow-brown skin having paled since they first met. It still had a natural glow, though, and nothing that had happened had gotten rid of the childish flicker that remained in his eyes. He was practically skin and bones, but he used his thinness to his advantage, being rather agile and lithe. His hair… his hair made him look all the more young. It stuck up at all angles, being a thick and matted mess of black strands. There were also pieces of things in his hair, like lint and cloth, a couple wires even (and he was sure that he had seen Hiro pull a pencil out of there once). Although he didn't like the terrible language that the boy insisted on using, he had to tell him what the matter was.

"First off, you know that I don't like bad language – one of the reasons that I don't speak German – but I understand that you were using it to get through to me, so I'll let it slide," Tadashi began, chuckling at his own joke that was at the expense of the German language. "Secondly… I was dreaming about the night that I killed my old professor."

No matter how many times Tadashi explained this story, it never really got easier, did it?

Hiro didn't say anything, but instead nodded for Tadashi to go on. Tadashi sighed, knowing that he was going to have to tell Hiro at some point.

"I used to go to a university – SFIT, I'm sure you know about it, seeing as you live here and all…" His voice wavered, making Hiro's eyes soften in pity. "I was in the robotics section, and I was studying medicine, but… well, something went wrong. I was building Baymax, who would be a personal healthcare robot that you could always have or whatever… and something went wrong. I don't know what, though. I really, really have no idea. He was supposed to pop up and be like _Hello, I'm Baymax, what's wrong?_ When you said "ow" but instead it… it attacked my professor. It… it was terrible. And it killed him. So that's why I'm in here," Tadashi finished his story, having had to stutter through the end. It wasn't something that he was proud of. It wasn't something that he liked to talk about or think about, so he simply shut down a little bit, his face going pale and his hands shaking.

Hiro, lacking the means of communication to convey the pure _pity_ that he felt towards his protector, hugged Tadashi. Really, it was just a bad hand that was dealt to him. That's the only reason that Tadashi was in there. He wasn't stupid and didn't make bad decisions the way that Hiro did. The only reason that he was there was that something bad happened to him and he had no means of amends, so because of this he went to jail.

The fact that he older was protecting Hiro made so much more sense to him sudden.

The kindness and innocence that would flash through his face on occasion was no longer puzzling.

The smiles and innocent jokes, the lack of swearing, the… _everything_, really. He wasn't a criminal the way that Hiro was, or the way that a majority of people in there were. He was a good person who was dealt a bad hand.

That made Hiro respect Tadashi all the more.

Tadashi curled up around Hiro gratefully, holding the younger tightly. After a couple of minutes, as a matter of fact, Tadashi fell asleep with Hiro in his arms. Hiro was not happy about this, but after a few minutes of squirming and such, he gave up and fell asleep as well.

Before he fell asleep, however, he got the blankets and pulled them over the two, nuzzling his head into Tadashi's warm chest, and quietly whispering one thing before he nodded off.

"No homo."


	5. Chapter 5

**Trigger warning, mentions of rape. (There is no rape scene, and there is nothing graphic, but some people are very sensitive about that and I want to warm them. Be safe, everyone.)**

Hiro felt someone sleeping next to him, the first thing going through his mind being _'Okay, I just need to get my clothes and sneak out.'_

The second was that he was in prison still and the he wouldn't be getting out for almost three months. That practically erased the first thought for he remembered that he was in Tadashi's bed.

Moments later he rolled over and fell onto the floor, groaning and stretching. It was too early for him to be awake and he wasn't going to do anything for the moment except lay on the nice, cold, hard floor. He curled up there for a few minutes before he finally found himself ready to wake up and got up to his feet unsteadily. He looked around and noticed that Tadashi was still sleeping, rolling his eyes. It would only be about an hour before everyone else would be waking up, so he decided to start cleaning the room up a little bit. He had gotten around eight more hours of sleep than usual (Tadashi had woken only two hours after he fell asleep, at about eleven) due to the coercive influence of Tadashi. That dang peer pressure, making him get so much sleep and let his guard down and stuff. He only really needed six or four hours of sleep, anyways.

He cleaned the room very well, while still managing the make sure that Tadashi didn't wake up. He then laid in bed for a little bit more time before everyone had to wake up and get moving and eat. Hiro greeted Tadashi, but they sat in a comforting silence while they ate. At one point Hiro, who was sitting next to Tadashi, put his head on the other's shoulder. That didn't last long because they had to eat, but it was a nice thing while it lasted. They were, in a word, brothers. They had mutual respect and admiration and lacked any form of romantic or sexual attraction. They may not have had the same parents, but they had each other, meaning that they were brothers without being related.

When they were done eating, they went out to the yard and then went to work. When Hiro was done with the work that he was assigned, he was sent to the showers to wash off all of the sweat that he worked up. That was where the dust was kicked around.

Hiro stripped down, his dignity having long been gone, and went to the open showers. One of the people that he had beaten (rightfully) in a bot fight a few months ago left the vicinity. That made Hiro relax as he washed himself. He was in the corner shower, and he had just began washing his rat's nest of hair when a shadow covered him. Hiro looked up and saw the person that had just left standing over him, accompanied by a few of his groupies. The person, Hiro faintly recalled, when by _Retasu._ Ret, for short. Hiro cowered under him, chuckling nervously.

"Uh, hey, Ret, it's been a long time, hasn't it been? Almost a year, right?" Hiro asked, looking around to try some way to escape. He found no easy escape route, only other people from different shifts filing into the bathroom. Hiro prayed that Tadashi would come in soon.

Ret snarled something in Japanese that was lost on Hiro, who was looking around desperately for Tadashi.

It was a close encounter. When Hiro didn't find Tadashi, he completely shut down and stopped registering what was happening. He didn't want to know about anything that was happening, but some things did get through his mental block, such as the steam of the shower and the disgusting entanglement of hair and hands, shortly followed by the feeling of skin on skin.

Things didn't get too far, though. Tadashi _did _come, and he made it very clear to all of them that he wasn't amused about the fact that they were messing with Hiro. When he had approached, he had noticed that they weren't simply going for violence, but violation. That was, by _absolutely not means_, okay with Tadashi.

Two of the four people got away lucky, with only some bruises and the faint chance of being unable to reproduce in the future. One broke his arm. Ret, however, didn't get off so easily. He lost three teeth, had a mild concussion, and a fractured shinbone.

Later, Tadashi almost felt guilty for hurting the group of people so badly, but then later he noticed how Hiro had shrunken up into himself, trying to recover from the experience. He hadn't talked since they had reunited and it was extremely concerning to Tadashi.

"Hey, Hiro… want to talk about what happened?" He asked softly. Hiro shrugged.

"I don't really know what happened."

"What do you mean?"

"I just kind of stopped. One minute he was over, the next you're over me asking if I'm okay. There are bits and pieces, but I don't really remember. I'll get over it in a day or two," Hiro whispered, trying to shrug Tadashi off. Tadashi, however, was not having any of it.

"That's really, really unhealthy, Hiro. Come on, let's talk about it," Tadashi insisted. They were both dry and into their usual uniforms, sitting on Tadashi's bed. "Where did you know that guy from?"

"His name is Retasu, I beat him in bot fighting, he was mad." Hiro shrugged again, and if the situation weren't so dire then Tadashi would have asked about the fact that the man's name was _lettuce_. This, however, was not the time.

"When he found me I was washing my hair. He just had a shadow over me and was really big and you weren't there to protect me and I couldn't run and I'm tiny so I can't fight so I shut down. I know that he was going to beat me up and then rape me, but I don't remember what he did to me and I'm actually really okay with that. I can take solace in the fact that he didn't get all the way, though," Hiro whispered. His voice was clearing up, and what he was saying seemed rather dry and factual, rather than emotional. Tadashi didn't know what to do or say, so he just held the younger one in his arms tightly. They slept in the same bed again that night.


	6. Chapter 6

**If I made grammatical mistakes (especially stupid ones, like "the same bed the night" or something) then don't hesitate to tell me. I'm usually really tired, so that's probably why I make the mistakes. **

Hiro recovered from the situation in the showers rather quickly. Or, at least, he forgot about the shower situation as well as he could rather quickly. Tadashi figured that, because every time that he asked about it Hiro brushed it off, he could stop bugging Hiro about the entire thing. The kid was doing alright, so there was no need to persist.

It was a month into their friendship, and they both had to look at the fact that they were going to get out soon. No one had dared attack or even so much as glance at Hiro after what happened in the showers, which Hiro was thankful for. Also, Hiro was going to get out two weeks early for good behavior, meaning that he and Tadashi were going to be getting out only three days apart. Hiro was going to have to deal without Tadashi for three strenuous days before he would get back out and be put back onto the streets, where he could buy an apartment and such. Tadashi had mentioned having Hiro live with him, but Hiro insisted that it would be too much. He had a feeling that that wouldn't be the last that he was hearing about it, though.

Now, I (the _brilliant_ narrator) would only show you something that actually pertains to the storyline. This is something that does indeed develop the story, but I must clarify one more time.

Hiro and Tadashi are not going to get together in any romantic way.

I know this is heart breaking, but I had to clarify that before I continued, for if I didn't then some people would either be very pissed, rather confused, or extremely hopeful about the next scene. Thank you for reading, now I'm going to carry on with the story. (Also, just as a side note, make sure that you've done your homework, eaten, and gotten enough sleep today, my sweets. Your heath is very important to me, because you can't review if you die.)

It was late afternoon when Hiro and Tadashi began talking – not about moving in together, for they were saving that conversation for later, but about their relationship.

"To be honest, I haven't had anyone as close to me as you since my parents died – I would say a friend as close as you, but I'm unsure if I'd actually call us friends and not something more…" Hiro said, zoning out a little bit.

"Whoa there, knucklehead. No homo," Tadashi chuckled, looking over at Hiro. "Though, like, I don't know. I mean, theoretically a relationship between us would work out, albeit the ratio of—stop laughing, science can be applied to any subject, including the likeliness of a relationship working out," they joked.

"You know there's only one way to find out, right?" Hiro teased, wiggling his eyebrows. Tadashi blushed at this.

"Okay, no, I'm not having sex with you – I've only had sex once, and that was with my ex-girlfriend after we dated for a year," Tadashi said, getting serious now. "We could, if you specifically wanted, kiss, though."

Hiro rolled his eyes and pecked Tadashi on the lips. Tadashi, who was rather shocked, pushed his chin back, making the kiss awkward and unromantic. Hiro was in desperate need of chap-stick, Tadashi noted.

When Hiro pulled away, he was laughing. Tadashi tried to glare, but he ended up laughing, too. They spent a solid five minutes laughing about how much of a failure that the attempt at any form of _romance_ between the two was. When the laughter subsided and they were left holding their stomachs and wiping imaginary tears from their eyes, they looked at each other, Hiro shaking his head.

"I'm not going to date you – I'm really glad we confirmed that, actually. Thank god, you were getting me all confused. And, Tadashi, you're really smooth in a lot of areas, and you're super cute, but kissing in _not_ your thing. I mean, seriously. That was as suave as a donkey having sexual relations with a cactus," Hiro teased, shaking his head. "I was doubting you when you said you've only had sex with one person, but now I don't really doubt it."

"And how many people have you done?" Tadashi inquired, raising an eyebrow and waggling a finger. Hiro rolled his eyes.

"I don't know off the top of my head," he replied. Tadashi was going to reply with a sarcastic remark, but then paused, his eyebrows knitted together.

"You're joking, right?"

"Nope? Why would I be?"

"Well… try and count, I guess."

"Does homosexual… antics count?"

"Sure."

There was a pause while Hiro shrugged, looking up at the ceiling. He found two numbers, glancing at Tadashi. He had a question, but he wasn't sure if Tadashi would react well to it.

Hiro mumbled his question, and, at the request of Tadashi, repeated it louder. "Does it count if it's not necessarily consensual?"

Tadashi coughed, staring at Hiro. "Give me both numbers," he whispered, unsure of how to react.

"Fourteen and twenty one."

There was a silence. Neither of them knew what to say – it irritated that both of the numbers were so high for such a young boy and that there was such a gap between the numbers. Seven times, Hiro had gotten somewhere that he didn't want to be. Seven. Times. Seven… He was roused from his thoughts by Hiro speaking again.

"Calm down, don't be such a downer. And, did you mean how many times or with how many people? Because that's like, how many people not how many times specifically," Hiro supplied, tired of the tension and silence. Tadashi swallowed, even though his mouth was terribly dry.

"It's… fine. This is fine. Uh, so… robotics. If you were to have to choose between an electromagnetic field to hold all of the parts under the same frequency or radio waves to communicate the…"

**A/N I don't even pretend to understand robots. **


	7. Chapter 7

**So, I have a legitimate question. I'm allergic to carrots (I break out into hives whenever I eat them), but my friend Mallory is making a carrot clarinet. Do you think I could play that without getting sick or would I get hives from it? It isn't really getting into my system, but I don't know if I should even attempt it. What do you think? Also, I am TERRIBLE at math (because 21 – 14 = 7 not six). **

"WHEN I WAS… A YOUNG BOY… MY FATHER…"

"What are you doing?"

"… I didn't realize that you were in the room."

"Well… I am."

"I've noticed… uh… it's really dark."

"I've noticed."

They lapsed into silence.

"What were you singing?"

"A song that some girl showed me after we left a bar. It's by My Chemical Romance, which I thought was funny."

"If she was listening to that band then she might have been underage."

"She was older than me."

"How were you two in a bar?! You know what? Never mind."

"You know what they say, don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers to."

"Yeah… so, what were you doing?"

"Masturbating – no, I'm joking, that was just a badly timed question. I was cleaning the room."

"For a split second I thought you were saying that you sing like that when you get off."

"I never said I don't."

"I'm ending this conversation."

There was a light chuckle. "Goodnight, Tadashi."

"Goodnight, Hiro… wait, why did you think I wasn't there? We're in _prison_, where would I have gone?"

"Canada?"

"I guess that's true. Night kiddo."

**This has nothing to do with the story, but it's funny. **


	8. Chapter 8

**My sister said I should apologize to all of the Canadians. Ha. That's not happening. **

Tadashi would be leave in only a week. He had been pressing the idea of living with Hiro. He insisted that Hiro could go to SFIT or something of the sort, or they could possibly work together on robots at home. Hiro eventually gave up on denying this idea. He had nowhere else to go, so there was no reason to deny the other's wish.

Tadashi promised that he would visit, and he alerted the guards that the kid would need surveillance because there were people that wanted to especially hurt Hiro. They nodded, and even said that they would do their best. Tadashi was a well-respect person, even to the guards that had no reason to respect him.

"Tadashi, does your place have internet?" It was such an innocent question. Too innocent, actually, Tadashi didn't quite trust the tone that Hiro had.

"… yes, why?"

"Because I want to know if I can wire a robot that could have the intelligence and ability to fight of the internet – also, like, Kung Fu, man," Hiro supplied. Tadashi glared at the shorter, shaking his head.

"You're _not_ bot fighting again, are you? Because that would be very disappointing, Hiro," Tadashi sighed, messing up his hair worriedly. He didn't want Hiro to return to the path that he had already gone down.

"No, I've learned my lesson, Tadashi," Hiro replied, shaking his head.

"How are we going to get all of yourself to my place, though? Is there an address that you have your things or anything?" Hiro stared at Tadashi flatly.

"Literally the only thing that I own outside of some ratty, stolen clothes is a robot – made out of stolen and broken parts – that was destroyed just before I got here." Tadashi made eye contact, and after a minute he coughed, shaking his head.

"I'll get you some clothes before I pick you up. Your room will be ready for you when you get there – don't even think about trying to argue, Hiro."

"I was going to say thank you, but okay, I won't think about arguing," Hiro teased. Tadashi messed up the other's hair before they went about their chores.

The rest of the week flew by, and even after Tadashi left no one tried to fight with Hiro. After seeing the boy being in jail and rather broken, any qualms that they had had had faded from the forefront of their mind. Most of the people were able to get out much before Hiro, anyways, because they had already been in the jail and the sentence for bot fighting can only be so harsh.

The three days alone in jail didn't feel as long as one would expect. They felt equivalent to the sleepless nights, only a bit longer. Hiro really couldn't complain, because after three days he was able to join Tadashi in an apartment and then engineer as much as he wanted to. He also got a full-time job to help with rent, and they were happy together as brothers.

Years later, Tadashi was the best-man at Hiro's wedding.

About a decade later, Tadashi consoled Hiro because his wife walked out on him and they lived together again for a while.

Tadashi never got married – although he did forgive himself for the death of Professor Callaghan, he could never trust his robots like that again. He would never let someone test his experiment until he was sure everything was worked out.

This is, in a sense, an ending. You've had a glimpse into their past. You've had a glimpse into their future, and you can imagine their present on your own. I believe, however, there is one moral that you can gather from this story, and it is probably the most important thing that you will ever learn.

Don't have sex because you _will_ get pregnant and you _will_ die. Don't have sex in the missionary position, don't have sex standing up, just don't do it, okay, promise? Okay, now everybody take some rubbers.

-Rose B.


End file.
